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Barcelona will take on Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano tonight. The Rojiblancos are undefeated so far in the league and as things stand, they're the favourites to go ahead and stake a claim for the title given the form that they're in.
Meanwhile, Barcelona seem to be reeling from the internal combustion that has happened at the club and the players will be desperate to achieve a positive result to get rid of the dark cloud that has cast a shadow over the Camp Nou outfit and seem to be following them into the season.
Atletico Madrid will be without in-form striker Luis Suarez who was ruthlessly cast out of Barcelona last summer. It's a fixture that the relentless Uruguayan would have relished but it's just not meant to be.
Atletico Madrid haven't won a league game against Barcelona in the last ten years and the stage is set for them to get that elusive victory. Barcelona are without a couple of key players themselves and face an uphill task against the in-form Atletico tonight.
#5 Injury crisis for Barcelona as they face Atletico Madrid
Barcelona go into the crucial game against Atletico Madrid without two important players. Youngster Ansu Fati, who has been the standout performer for the Cules so far this season, is now injured and out for at least three more months. Sergio Busquets is the next player to miss out.
There's no need to stress on the importance of Busquets. He has started all games so far in La Liga for the Blaugrana. Samuel Umtiti and Ronald Araujo are also ruled out of the clash.
Under Ronald Koeman, Barcelona have been pretty poor in big games and with a couple big names missing from the squad that will face the Rojiblancos, it has become even tougher for the Catalans.
#4 Barcelona's poor away record
Atletico Madrid have the home advantage and this looks like the perfect setting for Diego Simeone to register his first win over Barcelona as the manager of the Rojiblancos.
Atletico Madrid are undefeated at home this season so far and will be looking to kick on in the same vein as they take on Ronald Koeman and co. They are currently on a 24 match unbeaten streak.
Barcelona's record away from home has been poor for a while now. They have been beaten by Celta Vigo and Getafe away from home already this season and against a much tougher opposition, they will have to play out of their skins to eke out a result.
#3 Atletico Madrid defence has been solid
As is characteristic of Atletico Madrid under Cholo Simeone, they have been rock-solid at the back so far this season. The Rojiblancos have consistently been one of the best performing units in the Spanish top-flight ever since Diego Simeone took over at the helm and it looks set to remain that way this season as well.
In seven games so far this season, Atletico Madrid have only let in two goals. Felipe and Savic have been formidable at the back and without Ansu Fati in their lineup and Lionel Messi not hitting his stride so far, it won't be much of a surprise if Barcelona fail to get on the scoresheet even.
Though Barcelona have scored 15 goals from seven games this season, they have scored in abundance only against relatively weaker opposition. As such, this could be a tricky affair for Lionel Messi and company.
#2 Atletico Madrid have scored for fun and Barca defence is shaky
While they have only conceded two goals so far this season, what has actually made Atletico Madrid look like formidable title contenders is the fact that they have been scoring goals for fun as well.
Thanks to the scintillating form that Luis Suarez has been in and the occasional individual brilliance of Joao Felix, Atletico Madrid have no had much trouble finding goals this season.
They've scored a whopping 17 goals already this season at nearly three goals per game. Those are numbers that will worry a shaky Barcelona defence.
Barcelona's defensive woes have been well documented so far this season. They have let in eight goals from seven games and those are not the standards that Ronald Koeman would want his side to settle for.
#1 All pressure on Barcelona
Barcelona are presently eighth on the La Liga table with eleven points. They have so far registered just three wins, settled for two draws and have suffered two losses as well.
Both Barca and Atletico have two games in hand. However, Atletico are already third on the standings with 17 points. As such, if Atletico Madrid can walk away with a victory tonight, they will be nine points ahead of Barcelona.
That gap will only get wider given the form that the two teams are in. As such, the onus is in Barcelona to remain in the hunt and produce a performance that can heal a lot of wounds.
